Having a great appreciation for Major League Soccer, Hugo Gomes seeks fourth promotion in his Club career while dreaming of a possible transfer to US Soccer.
Playing his fifth year in Portuguese soccer, the Brazilian defender Hugo Gomes has accumulated several accesses from Liga 2 to the main Portuguese soccer league. He can even, with Moreirense, reach the third consecutive title of the Second Division for different clubs while becoming a protagonist.
He mentioned Major League Soccer, as a fan and for knowing and having played with many athletes in the past.
“There is Auro, who became champion with Toronto, and now he is no longer there. Now Artur is in Houston which I know from the times at São Paulo, and Luiz Araújo, who is in Atlanta, so I have these friends with whom I have practiced.
He continued: (MLS) is a league that has a lot of visibility, and it’s in a country I love. I have part of my family that lives in the USA, and I’m always visiting them. I know the culture, I like the country a lot, and because I’ve been following Major League Soccer for some time, I’ve always wanted to play there“, said Hugo.
This year, Hugo Gomes also gained US citizenship. Married to an American, the Brazilian athlete has family members in Florida, which makes him inclined to follow and “like” the clubs from the region.
“I got American citizenship through my wife, who is American by birth. Look, there is no specific club. I like Orlando City and Inter Miami very much because they are in the state where my family lives which is Florida. Whenever I’m on vacation there, I follow two local clubs. I also like clubs that have been championing recently because I have followed the MLS for the last five years, so I like Toronto, Columbus, and Atlanta, which are always in the fight for a title and now LAFC, which was the champion last season. I don’t have any priorities by any club, but the clubs that have been fighting for titles seduce me more because it’s something I’m used to, and in MLS, several clubs fight every season,’‘ said the player.
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At 28, the Brazilian defender began his journey in Portugal defending the colors of Famalicão, a club promoted with the athlete in the squad. Later, he repeated the feat while being one of the defensive pillars of Rio Ave and Estoril in the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons. Even defending the colors of Rio Ave, the defender had the best score of goals in a single season, with six goals.
With Moreirense, Hugo has been critical. Present in 20 of the 25 games in the League, Hugo is part, along with the team, of a defense that conceded very few goals. There were 22 goals conceded, an average of less than one goal per game.
Hugo Gomes believes that leaving Brazil early was an essential factor in his personal and professional development.
“It was imperative that I left Brazil early because the reality of European soccer is very different. First, I went to Spain and played for two years. I purchased a suitcase there and had access there too. I changed from the third division to the second division B. Then I already had my first access there in Spain through Mallorca B. Then I went back to Brazil, stayed for a year, and returned to Portugal, where I have already been for five years and four of them with access (including that we are going up this year – with Moreirense. We are very close). So, I think it was good because I had to mature very quickly, leave Brazil very early, played in a different league. This contributed to my personal experience”, ended Hugo Gomes
(Cover: Miguel Pereira/Global Images)
